A year spent upside down: Week eighteen: BLEUUUURGHHHH.

When I signed up for a year abroad, I knew this week would come. Right from the beginning, it has been sitting there on the horizon, close enough for me to see but far enough to ignore. As it has approached, I've rapidly adjusted the blinkers, keeping it out of my line of sight. Last week I was forced to acknowledge it. This week I've had to live it.

EXAM WEEK.

'Study abroad'... The clue's in the name, right? Yet somehow I have managed to pass this semester having the most incredible time of my life, with - despite my many library rants - minimal work and maximum beach time. This week I was forced to make up for that. The white sands and turquoise waters of the south pacific were replaced with the fluorescent lights and overenthusiastic air-con of the library.

Bleurgh.

Monday was, perhaps rather unhelpfully, spent away from the library. I recently got a job as a Greenpeace frontliner: I harass people on the street to give us money to save the whales. There was a lot of paperwork to get through, but it went okay and got me well on my way to earning some much-needed dollar. Afterwards, I headed back to campus and spent the evening snuggled up with my notes and sheltering from the Day After Tomorrow-esque storm outside.

Lightning lit up the whole sky!

Tuesday was E-day. I went for a quick run before gathering up my notes and heading to my first exam of the day: Aboriginal Studies. It went okay, it definitely won't get me a HD but hopefully I passed :)

For everyone at home,the grading system here is weird. 50% is a pass - rather than 40% - but the marking is easier. 50-59% is a pass (P), 60-69% is a credit (C), 70-79% is a distinction (D), and 80% upwards is a high distinction (HD). I got really confused on my first few weeks when people seemed happy to get Ds...

In the afternoon, I hit the books again in preparation for my second exam: Organisms to Ecosystems. It's a bizarre module: an introduction to the whole of biology. From the name and course outline, I presumed the main focus was on ecology, hence why I took it. I was wrong. The course covers - in surprising detail - plant biology, plant chemistry, cell biology, physiology, animal biology, ecology, evolution, human sex biology.... EVERYTHING. So, so much to learn. The exam itself could have been worse, I struggled with some questions but hopefully it went okay. Fingers crossed!

Once E-day was over, I still had a take-home exam to complete for The Sustainable Society. I put that off til Thursday, as I had more training at work on Wednesday, followed by a nice swim in the Ocean Baths with Liz. I spent Thursday and Friday working on my paper, which is unbelievably dull.

On Friday night we decided ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH. Despite our looming deadlines and mini-breakdowns, it was time to have some fun! We got dressed up, I learnt how truly atrocious I was at '63', and we all got embarrassingly drunk. We went to Finnegans and I decided it would be hilarious to pull the gremlin face a la Lou in every photo... Yeah. Regret that now. It was SUCH a fun night though, despite the embarrassing glut of photos still to come...

Saturday meant library time again, and I was determined to finish my exam. I sped through the questions and submitted it, meaning that I was DONE. Finished. Finito. Fin. No more. Nada. YAAAAY!

The end of exams meant the end of my first semester in Australia! I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed! I am four months in, and I now have three long months of summer stretching ahead of me. I'm so happy!

Saturday night was Lawrence's early 21st birthday party. Despite our tired and hungover states, we went along and had a good night, watching his steady descent into inebriation, accompanied by numerous "I love you guys sooo much"-style speeches! Hahaha.

Sunday was BEACH TIME! I headed along with Kirsty, who was working at the National Beach Volleyball Championships on Nobbys Beach. We watched a couple of matches with Anna and Josh, and got a little burnt...

New South Wales vs Queensland

Anna had a go!

In the evening, we got showered and headed to the Brewery for the Sunday Sessions. It was so fun! We sat on the jetty, had a couple of glasses of vino and had a little boogie. Despite the relatively little amount of alcohol consumed, vino + dehydration - dinner = drunky. We ended up on a food search at 8pm (I know, that's what you get for starting early!), and found a pie van (classyyyyyy!) which served the most INCREDIBLE pies! Veggie pie topped with mash, mushy peas and gravy, and ACTUAL HP SAUCE!! It was so good!

Sunday sessions :)

Champers by the harbour :)

Pielove.

Afterwards we headed to Anna's for a sleepover on her balcony. We watched Love Actually, ate lots of GO-LO crap and had a laugh, before having a surprisingly good nights sleep, considering the numerous bats and cockatoos squawking at us.

Balcony slumber party!

This morning I had to sort out some paperwork at Greenpeace, before heading to Newcastle Beach with Kirsty to relaaaaax in the 35 degree heat. It was such a beautiful day, and so hot! The waves weren't huge, so we climbed the rocks and jumped off into the sea. which seems to be getting clearer and more turquoise by the hour. At one point whilst standing atop a rock, surrounded on three sides by crystal-clear ocean, I said aloud 'I want to live here!' before realising I do!

I live in Australia, in a gorgeous city with three incredible white-sand beaches right in the city centre. I wake up to the sound of cockatoos and parrots. The skies are bright blue, the breeze is warm and the sea is gorgeous. I have finished exams and don't start Uni again for three months. I'm living the dream! I have so much to look forwards to in the next few months! A week and a half until Melbourne, then two and a half weeks back in Newy before Hugo comes over for a month. Afterwards, I'm going to New Zealand with the girls, and in between are countless day of lazing on the beach, swimming in the sea and soaking up the sun. I literally cannot put into words how lucky I am to be living this life right now.